Golf cup



G. F.- WALES Dec. 28, 1948.

GOLF CUP 2 Sheets-Sheet -1 Filed May 2s,4 1944 l Dec. 28, 1948.

G. F. WALL-:s

GOLF UP Filed May 26, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 silllllllllllllllll r/lrlfnnnfilnvwnllvllllll mf/fw.

Patented Dec. 28, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE GOLF CUP` George FL W'alesg` Kenmore, N. Y. Application; May 26, 1944; Seriali` No.. 537,423

4. Claims. 1I

'I'his invention relates to cups for use in golf course putting greens into which. golf vballs are `directed to terminate the play at each hole. Cups are also used in practice games,

As heretofore constructed golf cups have con.- sisted of tubular receptacles having an. internal spider-like portion for supporting the flagstai at a depth of atleast 4f' from the tcp of the hole as established by the rules of the game.v This spider has a socket in the center of the cup `to 4 accommodate a bamboo. flagpole which `projects upward from the hole at an` approximate height of from four to seven. feet above the. green to indicate to approaching players the positionv of the hole.

While the rules of the game require. that the y agstaii stand upright in the hole it is rather exceptional to find one in an upright position. This is due to the wear and tear which the bottom of the staff is subjected to continually during the golfing season. In many courses it is not unusual for. every iiag on the course to be withdrawn and replaced in its cup one hundred timesa day and even though many staffs are equipped with ferrules, these come loose and the4 flagstaif assumes an angular position. rIhus a player in approaching a hole may ind' that the stall` is leaning toward him and( should his shot be accurately played the ball instead of dropping into the cup would be interfered with.

Golf cups as heretofore constructed with the referred to spider have depended upon the natural drainage of the greens in which they were implanted to carry off any water'which hadaccumulated in the cup. The cup tube toprovide for this has been made approximately twice-as long as the cup itself required and: the spider was located about midway of the tube. Preparatory to placing the cup in a greena hole has been formed to accommodate the full length of the tube so that when inserted a well existedl' below the spider midway of thetubeandl thebottomof the hole.

The spider hasI been comprised'of spokes attached to the inner diameter of: the tube and supporting the socket for the flagstail. Ylnetvveen the spokes` were openings through. which, water passed into the lower well when it rained/'or the green was sprinkled. Often; the, greens become soaked with Water andthe cups lill up, and` in such instances itvtakes quite a while for the=water to drain out to a levelV where the ball. may be played into it without getting wet. Because of the open construction of thesecups theyV have usually become*` muddy in. wet. weather andplayh irregular and larger than the ing' a ball into them; has been disagreeable as in retrieving the ball the lingers. were soiled and the ballfhadto be wiped clean.

The principal object of this invention is to provider a cup for a golf hole which at all times is freefrom water., dirt, sand, or other foreign substance so thatA when the player plays Ihis ball into the hole it does not become wet or soiled.

l Another object is to provide an improved means forsupporting the flagstaff in the hole.

lStill, another Objectis to provide a method of joining; the. ilagstai to the 'hole lining in such mannerthat the stall; cannot lean so that it bears on the lip of: the hole thus making the hole 4% specified by the rules ofthe game,

A further object is tov set the lagstaff' away from the center of the hole and .toward the side farthest'y away from the direction in which the ball is being. played'to the hole, thus making the entrance tothe hole as open as possible, so that aballi being played from an approaching distance to the hole will have the best possible chance of entering the hole.

` Another Objectis to provide a means of locating'two nesting linings or cups so that the llagstaf will always be farthest away from the direction in which the majority of approach shots are played tothehole.

Another object is to provide a means of lifting theball orballs out of the hole on practice greens. The balls are played into the hole with the inner cup and flagstaff in it and the player lifts the stalfarld cup containing the balls and empties the cup without bending.

Another object is to provide a golf cup which requires the digging of a hole in the green only the depth of the hole required in the rules and one which is closed at the bottom and requires no drainage.

Another object is, to provide a golf cup with the agstaff'in coaxial relation with the cup but so arranged that the staff is formed to be supported at the side of the cup and thus provide an entrance to the hole, as open as possible.

Other objects: and advantages of the invention willV more fully and clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig, l is a perspective view of my improved double golf cup as it appears in a putting green.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same as taken on line'Z-Z of Fig. 1.

HFig.. 391s a vertical section of the inner cup 3 separated from the outer cup with the view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the outer cup looking into the hole after the inner cup has been withdrawn as indicated by line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the inner cup taken on line 5--5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the outer cup showing its position on the ground and how no drainage is required.

Fig. '7 is a vertical section of my double cup with the flagstaii formed to be in coaxial relation with the cup.

Fig. 8 is a sectional plan view of the inner cupshown in Fig. 7 as taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

In the following description similar characters of reference indicate like parts in the several iigures of the drawings.

In Fig. l the numeral I0 represents a puttingv y green, Il the hole in the green and l2 the flagstai attached to the wall of an inner cup as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5.

The details of a preferred form of the organization of parts as illustrated in Fig. 1 is shown in Fig. 2 whereby i3 is an outer cup or hole lining having a closed bottom I4. The cup is so formed that the side walls extend below the level of the bottom, as indicated by numeral I5.

Fig. 6 shows the outer cup I3 embedded in hole IG which has been cut out of the green and the earth removed to the bottom Il of the hole. The lower rim i8 of the outer cup rests on the earth as shown to prevent the cup from being forced lower into the hole than the official rules of the game provide. Top edge I9 of the cup when in its proper position is approximately 1 below the lip of the hole so that a fast running ball will strike the soil rather than the cup.

Numeral 2B indicates an annular well which is narrower than the diameter of a golf ball and is so constructed as to catch any water or moisture which might remain in this cup after the inner cup which will be described subsequently is removed. 1

Numeral 2l indicates a golf ball elevated above the well as it rests on the inner surface 22 of the cup.

Fig. 2 illustrates how my inner cup 23 is placed freely into outer cup I3 in such manner that the conguration of the base of the outer cup is closely followed by the inner cup. Due to the close arrangement of these two cups it is obvious that the moisture which could accumulate between the inner and outer cup would be so small that when the inner cup is removed the slight amount of moisture would be barely noticeable in the well 2e of the outer cup.

In order to assist in keeping moisture or foreign substances from getting into the space between the two cups I provide an outwardly formed iiange 2li which rests approximately iiush with the top of the hole in the green.

In Fig. 3 the inner cup is shown removed from the outer cup and as indicated by numeral 25 ilagstaff l2 is welded or otherwise attached to the inside of the wall 25 of the inner cup.

In order that the fiagstaff will be positioned at the rear side of the-cup, or at the side of the cup farthest away from the teeing ground, so

that a substantially open hole faces the player,

I provide on the outer cup means for insuring that this position is maintained. i

Although any number of methods may be devised to accomplish this I prefer to` form a protuberance 2l upwardly into the well with which companion protuberance 29 in the inner cup engages in order to permit the inner cup to be received properly in its outer cup.

Having thus described this particular organization of parts it is obvious that when the putting green is soaked with water either by rain or by having been sprinkled and with the cups in position as shown in Fig. 2 the inner cup collects practically all of the water` which enters the hole. When the flagstaff and inner cup are removed from the hole the inner cup acts as the bowl of a ladle and carries out all of the water `or foreign matter which might have fallen into f the hole, the slight amount of excess water beltween the two cups then collecting in well 20.

The reason for placing flagstaif l2 at the outer side of the hole rather than in the center is to provide a comparatively complete hole into which the ball will fall on the rare occasions when unexpected shots drive the ball to the cup. By attaching the shaft securely to the inner cup, the flagstaff always stands in an upright position.

The rules of the game of golf are rather rigid and its is problematical as to whether such a cup as previously describedwould be acceptable to the Rules Committee. I therefore have invented an alternative method of attaching the flagstai to the inner cup, as illustrated in Fig. 7 wher-eby flagstaif 3i] is attached to the wall of the inner cup but is formed as indicated by numerals 3l and 32 to bring the main stall 33 into coaxial alinement with the hole, otherwise this invention is the same as described above.

I claim:

l. A golf ball receptacle for a hole in a putting green comprising a cup having a cylindrical wall extending to within a short distance of the ground level and a closed bottoni formed inwardly to provide an annular well between the cylindrical wall and said bottom and a removable internal cup having walls the full depth of the hole and being shaped to t closely into said outer cup in such manner that the volume of space between the inner wall of the outer cup and the outer wall of the inner cup is less than the volume of said annular well.

2. The combination of a cylindrical liner for a hole in a golf putting green and a removable base cup attached to a flagstaff, said iiagstaff being attached eccentrically of the center of said cup and means for registering the placing of said base cup in said liner so that the fiagstaff is in the portion of the hole most remote from the teeing ground.

3f. The combination of a cylindrical liner for a hole in a golf putting green and a removable base cup attached to a flagstaff, said flagstaff being attached eccentrically of the center of said cup and being bent above said cup to bring the main stair coaxial with said liner and means for registering the location of said base cup with relation to said liner, so that the attachment of said flagstaff to said base cup is in the portion of the hole remote from the teeing ground.

4.* `A fixed ball receptacle and a combined casual golf cup and marker combination for use in a hole in a putting green characterized by having a flagstaff attached to the inside of the vertical vwall of said cup, the mouth of said cup projecting above the soil level and being flared outwardly and the bottom of said cup having an annular well between the cylindrical wall and a bottom formed inwardly into said cup, said fixed 5 receptacle having a bottom and well conforming Number in shape to that of said cup. 1,568,321 GEORGE F. WALES. 1,723,859 1,813,696 REFERENCES CITED 5 1,838,223 The following references are of record in the 118401038 le of this patent:

UNITED STA'I'ES PATENTS Number Number Name Date 10 12,566 1,041,031 Hinckley oct. 15, 1912 373,054 1,470,003 Du Bois oct.16,1923 498,519 1,568,320 Coldwell Jan. 5, 1926 Name Date Coldwell Jan. 5, 1926 Hummel Aug. 6, 1929 Crocker July 7, 1931 Hanes Dec. 29, 1931 Jones Jan. 5, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain 1910 Great Britain May 19, 1932 Great Britain Jan. 9, 1939 

